Raven Jackson

Raven Jackson (born 1990) is an American filmmaker and television writer. A graduate of the New York University Tisch School of the Arts, she released several short films before making her feature film debut with All Dirt Roads Taste of Salt (2023). She is a 2025 Guggenheim Fellow.

Raven Jackson
At the Montclair Film Festival in October 2023
Born	1990 (age 34–35) Tennessee, U.S.
Alma mater	Austin Peay State University New York University Tisch School of the Arts
Occupation	Filmmaker
Notable work	All Dirt Roads Taste of Salt (2023)
Awards	Guggenheim Fellowship (2025)

Biography

Raven Jackson was born in 1990 in Tennessee,^[1] to a mother from Mississippi.^[2] She is a native of Clarksville, Tennessee,^[3] and "grew up fishing on the Cumberland River".^[2] She graduated from Austin Peay State University in 2012,^[4] and she obtained her first MFA at The New School's writing program.^[5] Despite being uncertain about filmmaking without a background of technical experience, she decided to apply to New York University,^[2] and she obtained another MFA from New York University Tisch School of the Arts's graduate film program.^[5][4]

Her NYU thesis film was called Nettles,^[6] and it appeared at the 2019 Slamdance Film Festival.^[7] She later released another short film, A Guide To Breathing Underwater (2018).^[8] She and Leigh Ann Biety co-wrote "The Myth of California", a 2022 episode of the Apple TV+ series Surface.^[9]

Her feature film debut All Dirt Roads Taste of Salt, which she directed and wrote, was released in 2023.^[10][2] She then received several personal nominations, including the 2023 Gotham Independent Film Award for Breakthrough Director, the 2023 Chicago Film Critics Association Milos Stehlik Award for Breakthrough Filmmaker, and the 2024 Black Reel Award for Outstanding Emerging Director and for Outstanding Breakthrough Screenwriter.^[11][12][13] In 2024, she directed the music video for Common's song "Dreamin'".^[14] In 2025, she was awarded a Film Independent Amplifier Fellowship^[10] and a Guggenheim Fellowship.^[15]

She is also a poet, with one of her poems having the same name as her feature film debut.^[2]

Accolades

Award	Date of ceremony	Category	Recipient(s)	Result	Ref.
Sundance Film Festival	January 27, 2023	Grand Jury Prize: Dramatic Competition	All Dirt Roads Taste of Salt	Nominated	[16]
San Sebastián International Film Festival	September 30, 2023	Golden Shell		Nominated	[17]
		RTVE-Another Look Award: Special Mention		Won	[18]
		SIGNIS Award		Won
Ghent International Film Festival	October 21, 2023	Best Film		Nominated	[19]
Chicago International Film Festival	October 22, 2023	Gold Hugo		Nominated	[20]
Montclair Film Festival	October 29, 2023	Breakthrough Director & Writer Award	Raven Jackson	Won	[21]
Gotham Independent Film Awards	November 27, 2023	Breakthrough Director		Nominated	[11]
National Board of Review	December 6, 2023	Top 10 Independent Films	All Dirt Roads Taste of Salt	Won[a]	[22]
IndieWire Critics Poll	December 11, 2023	Best First Feature	All Dirt Roads Taste of Salt	2nd Place	[23]
Chicago Film Critics Association Awards	December 12, 2023	Best Editing		Nominated	[12]
		Milos Stehlik Award for Breakthrough Filmmaker	Raven Jackson	Nominated
Florida Film Critics Circle Awards	December 21, 2023	Best First Film		Nominated	[24]
Black Reel Awards	January 16, 2024	Outstanding Independent Film	All Dirt Roads Taste of Salt	Nominated	[13]
		Outstanding Emerging Director	Raven Jackson	Nominated
		Outstanding First Screenplay		Nominated
Independent Spirit Awards	February 25, 2024	Best First Feature	Raven Jackson, Maria Altamirano, Mark Ceryak, Barry Jenkins, and Adele Romanski	Nominated	[25]

Notes

1. This award does not have a single winner, but recognizes multiple films.